This was absolutely fantastic. It was. so informative, yes, but it was also so GORGEOUS. The illustrations practically flew off the page and they were just so captivating. It made everything that much more incredible to learn about. And I really did learn a lot!

Deep, Deep Down: The Secret Underwater Poetry of the Mariana Trench was written by Lydia Lukidis and illustrated by Juan Calle. Deep, deep down, at the very bottom of the ocean, lies a secret world. Through lyrical narration, this spare-text STEM picture book takes readers on a journey to a place very few humans have ever been—the Mariana Trench. The imagined voyage debunks scary myths about this mysterious place with surprising and beautiful truths about life at Earth's deepest point. Deep, Deep Down shows a vibrant world far below, and teaches readers how interconnected our lives are to every place on the planet.

Deep, Deep Down is a beautifully illustrated book that captures the mysterious creatures and habitat deep in the ocean. The artwork is realistic, but still carries a touch of cartoonish edging. The words are few, but have a nice cadence and flow well. I also liked the boxes of detailed information of the creatures featured in the book, as well as the markers as to the depth and pictured creatures on just about every page. These pieces of information are great for the interested and curious, and might spark more interest in younger readers, while they do not distract those that are just interested in the artwork and narration. In the same vein, I like the additional information and glossary that are included at the end of the book. I think the only thing that was missing was a list of resources for further investigation of the subject matter. I think because of this the book will stand up well to multiple readings and a wider range of age groups.

Illustrations are excellent!! Enjoyed by both myself and my son. Book was set up in a way that you could dive deeper into topics or skip over certain parts depending on the child’s age. Would recommend to friends!

For anyone seeking to supplement an ocean animals study with learning about the animals of the Maria Trench, you don’t need to look any further than Deep, Deep Down by Lydia Lukidis, illustrated by Juan Calle (Capstone, 2023). This nonfiction poetic picture book does a wonderful job of matching its intended audience with tone, text, and illustrations.

In the author’s note to Deep, Deep Down, Lukidis writes that once she learned about the creatures in the Mariana Trench, she was surprised to find that they were slow and graceful, not monsters. Her picture book, which is subtitled The Secret Underwater Poetry of the Mariana Trench, perfectly captures this lovely feeling, with poetic text describing the animals and a feeling silence and reverence as an imaginary submersible sinks to the bottom of the Challenger Deep.

Lukidis adds informational sidebars to give more details about the creatures, with just the right amount of text. Even if I read the sidebars at the same time as the more lyrical text, it still works well to read together. Younger children may simply enjoy the poetry as they read with a parent. Older children would enjoy both.

Along with the text, there are simply gorgeous and (is this the right word?) cute illustrations of these creatures. Who would have thought the creatures like the snailfish, the crinoid, and the single-celled xenophyophore (which makes a solid structure out of its poop) would appear so lovely and friendly? This illustrator did a wonderful job of matching the feel of the author’s text with a gentle illustration style.

Although I know very little about the Mariana Trench, I know even less about the animals of the very deep. Even as an adult I learned something from Deep, Deep Down. End matter answers some basic questions about the Mariana Trench, as well as shares some reasons why further exploration is useful to the world.

I felt the text did a great job of reminding a young reader that there is always more to research. Maybe they can be the next scientist to do so!

I received a digital review copy of this book.

A delightful dive into the deep! I read this book with my science-loving 8-year-old, and we both learned many new and interesting facts about the Mariana Trench. Deep, Deep Down is structured as a journey to the bottom of the Mariana Trench and back up again with a look at many of the creatures that call the trench home. The story uses lyrical language and works well as. a read-aloud. Deep, Deep Down also includes interesting backmatter with more information about the Mariana Trench and why it matters. This picture book is well-structured and a great choice for both children and adults.

I really love this book. Both beautiful and educational. Come and take a trip deep, deep down to the world below.

I believe the ocean is similar to outer space. It is expansive and magical and there are so many unknowns and endless possibilities. It's exciting.

The artwork is gorgeous and the text is lovely. Perfect for a child with a curious mind.

Deep, Deep Down by Lydia Lukidis is a beautifully illustrated educational book for kids interested in learning and discovering the secret life of weird animals living at the bottom of the ocean.
This short book is very well done and has some interesting facts about certain species. I can definitely see kids getting interested.

Though, while I was reading it to my kids, I needed to use some encouraging to keep kids focused on a story. The beginning was not as engaging and illustrations were missing some colours, but around the middle part of a story things got interesting and kids wanted to finish the story. I think it would have gone better it there was some kind of a story happening in a background, next to the facts. In my opinion, book felt a little bit too poetic, with flowery writing, it didn't catch an interest right away.

I think this book has a great potential, but only for kids who are curious, who want to know about underwater creatures.

I received an ARC of “Deep, Deep Down: The Secret Underwater Poetry of the Mariana Trench” from NetGalley and Capstone Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

Written by Lydia Lukidis and illustrated by Juan Calle, this picture book has a lot going on. No one can deny that this book is beautifully illustrated. All I kept saying, over and over again, was ‘Wow!’. Calle brilliantly brought the Mariana Trench to life with his exquisite art. It really was breathtaking. The Illustrations alone are worth five (5) stars. But the text…

Lukidis beautifully described the Mariana Trench. But as a picture book, I have doubts that young kids—and many adults!—are going to be able to pronounce a multitude of words. For example:

“…Glide forward,
past rows and rows
of xenophyophores,
clustered like cabbages…”

To be fair, the author included a glossary at the back of the book, and while she includes words like ‘scare’ and ‘translucent’, other important words like ‘xenophyophores’ doesn’t appear. Although the illustration clarifies what it is, children (and many adults) will still need help learning how to say it.

I believe that the biggest issue with this book is not even so much the choice of words (even though many children won’t be able to pronounce them), but the content—the concepts and the scope of the work. The author wanted to take the reader on a journey all the way to the bottom of the trench, which she did. But just a few pages after starting the book, the reader gets bombarded with information. As an adult scientist, this is *exactly* what I want, but as a children’s book, it is way too much information in one 10 minute sitting.

For example, small sidebars appeared on the pages that included the name of the creature, its length, and the depth in which it is found. However, these could have been eliminated because the same information appears at the end of the book in map form. Another example of this overload of information can be found in the information boxes that also appear throughout the book:

“…Xenophyophores are neither plants nor animals, though they’re alive. They’re single-celled organisms. But xenophyophores are gigantic, with some as big as soccer balls. Their shells are made up of bits of dirt, dead animals, rocks, and minerals stuck together with a cement-like glue that contains their poop…”

That’s a LOT of information for an eight-year-old to process. Over the years, I have had to explain the concepts of evolution to college-level students, and it wasn’t always easy for them to grasp at first. If I had overloaded them with all of the evidence, they would have been overwhelmed and wouldn’t have really understood the science. Instead, I introduced the concepts to them bit-by-bit, piece-by-piece over a semester. I can’t imagine trying to explain algae, bacteria, TMAO (trimethylamine N-oxide), and amphipods to children aged 8-10 in just a few minutes.

If the author had focused on a single important concept, such as depth level or light, or on a specific species, and carried that concept/species throughout the book, it would have created a better learning experience for children. Instead, so much information will, I believe, result in a myriad of unanswered questions unless those children have the gift of having parents who are marine biologists.

I want to be clear that Lukidis should be applauded for attempting to introduce young children to the wonders of the Mariana Trench. But in her quest to do so, I believe children will be left with the same watery eyes that I’ve seen on many a graduate student after reading Darwin’s “On the Origin of Species.”

This was such a great read. So beautiful and calm. I truly felt like I was down there seeing these creatures with my own eyes thanks to the illustrations. This is most definitely a book I must add to my library.

A book that contains both a story and a lot of helpful information about the Mariana Trench and the inhabitants of the deep. We learn about a few different creatures and in wich depth they life. The deeper down we go there is less food and we’re informed who they survive.

I don’t really have any prior knowledge about this topic, so this was informative for me. So if you know a kid who loves to learn new things or is interested in the ocean and it’s inhabitants, this would be a great choice.

The art gave us a idea of how these creatures look like and brought the information across very well.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the E-Arc in exchange for an honest review.

An interesting book with lots of facts. Good for kids interested in the ocean. Didn't love it, but see the value in the educational aspects.

Great book about the mysteries of the Mariana Trench and the inhabitants of the deep. It has beautiful lyrical writing and fascinating illustrations that grab you from the first page.
A book for those who love marine life and want to know more in a very entertaining way.
The book is so well done that there was a moment when I felt like I was on a visit to a marine museum.

One of the things I liked the most were the fact sheets where you were shown more detailed information about the species.

I’m a huge sucker for anything about the ocean. When I was a kid, the only thing I really had available to learn about the sea were Jacques Cousteau books and videos. There’s so much more available now, and this book is a nice addition to the options. The art has a realistic look that’s almost surreal, which suits the topic of the abyssal seas. It’s easily the best part of the book. I’d love a poster of the depth map from the end of the book, if it had consistent scaling for the creatures.
I found the actual text uneven, and the typographical choices a little odd. I understand making the prose-verse in serif and the factual information in sans-serif, but the particular ones chosen didn’t seem to match with the tone of the text, and the sans-serif was a bit difficult to read with its very narrow kerning. As for the actual content, I forgot if the prose was supposed to be poetry, as it didn’t have a strong sense of rhythm or rhyme. In the information boxes, I thought it was odd that in a book giving scientific names and presenting a glossary at the end, the author chose to use “poop” instead of “feces”. If you’re expecting readers to be able to manage “xenophyophores”, then using childish language for defecation isn’t appropriate - respect kids’ intelligence!
These are, however, mostly nitpicks. It’s a fun little book with a good sense of the deepest part of the ocean and really lovely artwork.

Mariana Trench, which has 10.000 meters of depth, holds a unique selection of animal lives; but what species can you find there, and what is it like living underneath a water pressure that are 1.100 times higher than at sea level?

Those and more questions are answered in this little but important book about the Mariana Trench. Admittedly, I didn’t have much clue about this part of the ocean. It was quite fascinating to read about it with wonderful poetry and illustrations. I always very much liked the facts written at the end of the book.

I think young readers who are fascinated by the ocean/Mariana Trench, or those who want to pick this up and learn something new will love this! It’s simple and fun reading!

Happy reading!♥️

Deep, Dee[ Down is a lovely book of poetry that reads like a story. Follow a submarine explore the Mariana Trench and the creatures it encounters. I love how each creature has a box of nonfiction information about itself. The artwork is stunning and helps understand the animals and creatures being described.

A submarine journeys to the bottom of the ocean. Along the way the reader meets some new, and interesting creatures.
The artwork of the book is absolutely stunning! Add in some gorgeous poetry, sprinkle in some interesting facts, and you have a banger of a book!

This book was absolutely adorable. I'm entirely fascinated by the ocean and the things lurking in the deep. This is a great way to introduce kids to it. Would be great for a teacher or homeschooling. I loved that the end had a depth map showing where each of the animals we met would live. There was also more information about the trench for older readers or for teachers to incorporate into a lesson. The glossary was a nice addition. And, of course, the illustrations were absolutely gorgeous!

I have to admit as I now have been at House of Science NZ for four months, I am starting to get a new appreciation for certain things like sustainability, climate change, global issues, and marine animals. These were topics prior that I wasn't exposed to, but now they are part of my everyday life as I think about how the books I read could be connected to our science resource kits. Deep, Deep, Down by Lydia Lukidis would work as a great companion to our kit Big Blue Future which talks about marine life and our oceans. Deep, Deep, Down takes readers on a journey as each page goes deeper and deeper down the Mariana Trench, stopping along the way and introducing readers to the types of creatures and plants that are found at the particular level. The illustrations by Juan Calle were also very beautiful and accompany the pages perfectly as along with the amazing pictures is the fantastic poetry from author Lydia Lukidis. Deep, Deep, Down is a great non-fiction read aimed at children aged 7-10 years old.

Did you know that there is a place in the western Pacific Ocean that is an incredibly 36,000 feet deep and has been visited by fewer people than have visited the moon? It is as technically hard to visit the Mariana Trench as it is to fly into space. I needed to know more about this wondrous trench, so I found Deep, Deep Down and got the lowdown.

It is clear a scientist wrote this book, because it methodically presents the details about the depth, the trench's inhabitants, and its alien environment with crisp illustrations to bring it all alive. Whether you're 7 or 70, you'll certainly share in the amazement that comes with learning about how any creature could live seven miles below sea level.

Deep, Deep Down taught me about some interesting creatures I’ve never heard of that inhabit the Mariana Trench. I had no idea how enormous it is or that studying the unique habits gives us clues to learn about how life can survive in such adversarial conditions. My middle schoolers will be fascinated by this one.